POWER TRENCH MOSFET WITH IMPROVED UNCLAMPED INDUCTIVE SWITCHING (UIS) PERFORMANCE AND PREPARATION METHOD THEREOF
A trench type power semiconductor device with improved breakdown voltage and UIS performance and a method for preparation the device are disclosed. The trench type power semiconductor device includes a first contact hole formed in a mesa in the active area and a second contact hole formed in a mesa in an active to termination intermediate area, where the first contact hole is deeper and wider than the second contact hole.
The present invention relates to a Metal-Oxide-Semiconductor Field Effect Transistor (MOSFET) for power switching, in particular, to a power trench MOSFET with an improved unclamped inductive switching (UIS) performance to optimize an avalanche breakdown voltage (BV) of the power trench MOSFET and a preparation method thereof.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTIONIn a power semiconductor device, a gate may be formed in a trench extending downward from the surface of a semiconductor silicon substrate, for example, a trench MOSFET a trench insulated gate bipolar transistor (IGBT) and the likes, which include various types of trench gates with different functions, but due to characteristics of the device structure itself, electric field intensity at the bottom of some trenches is at a highest level. When the voltage climbs to the avalanche breakdown point, impact ionization occurs at the corner of the trench resulting in the avalanche current. In general, the avalanche breakdown causes a hot carrier effect. When the breakdown occurs close to a gate oxide layer, an undesirable consequence is that the hot carrier may be captured and injected into the gate oxide layer, which may damage or break off the gate oxide layer, causing a long-term reliability problem of the power device. In addition, such trench often limits the device to achieve the high breakdown voltage.
In general, if the avalanche breakdown occurs during the low current levels, the performance of the device may not be significantly hampered when the breakdown occurs in a termination area, and there is no concern about the safety operation issues of the device. However, in some special operating periods, such as during an unclamped inductive switching (UIS) period, as the inductive current in a circuit system does not change suddenly, the device often bears certain higher voltage intensity, equivalently, when the device is in a high current avalanche breakdown stage the termination area with very limited surface area may not be able to handle the power loss safely and effectively because the active area of the power device cannot be reduced to increase the termination area, resulting the breakdown in the termination area becoming a negative effect on the safe operation area (SOA) of the device, which is undesirable. Particularly when the trench depth in the active area and the trench depth in the termination area is inconsistent, the terminal area will breakdown at a low voltage level.
In view of the prior art's problems, it is necessary to keep the device in the SOA at an optimal UIS condition to optimize the distribution of the electric field intensity of the power semiconductor device It is within this context that embodiments of the present invention arise.
Objects and advantages of the invention will become apparent upon reading the following detailed description and upon reference to the accompanying drawings. However, the accompanying drawings are for illustration and explanation only and do not limit the scope of the invention.
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In addition, the top metal electrode 612 arranged in the intermediate area 250 and the active area 300 above the isolation trench 102 is in electrical contact with the conductive material 102a filled in the isolation trench 102 via the metal plug 555 in the contact hole 503 and with the body layer 120 in the intermediate area 250 via the metal plug 555 in the contact hole 504. Moreover, the source layer 130 and the body layer 120 in the active area 300 are shorted together and are electrically connected with the top metal electrode 612 via metal plug 555. The shielding electrode 103a at the lower part of each active trench 103 is electrically connected with the conductive material 102a filled in the isolation trench 102 in a third dimension (not shown), and thus electrically connected with the top metal electrode 612, while the control gate 103e at the upper part of all active trenches 103 is electrically isolated from the conductive materials 102a filled in the isolation trench 102. The control gates 103e at the upper part of all active trenches 103 are connected with each other and to the gate materials filled in the gate pickup trench in a third dimension (not shown), which is electrically connected to a gate metal via a metal plug formed in the contact hole aligned with the gate materials filled in the gate pick trench, and therefore the control gates 103e are electrically connected the gate metal formed atop the insulation passivation layer 101 (not shown).
The top metal electrode 612 is used as the source electrode of the MOSFET device and the bottom metal electrode 613 is used as the drain electrode of the MOSFET device. The body layer 120 in the intermediate area and the active area, the source layer 130 in the active area 300, the shielding electrode 103a and the conductive material 102a filled in the isolation trench 102 are at the same potential with the source (if the source layer 130 is also formed in the intermediate area, it is also at the source potential.
In an alternative embodiment shown in
In another alternative embodiment (not shown), the opening 400a, the opening 400b, the opening 400c and the opening 400d are firstly formed in a first mask 401 for preparing the contact hole 501, the contact hole 502, the contact hole 503 and the contact hole 504, and the first mask 401 is stripped. And then the opening 400e is formed in a second mask 402 for preparing the contact hole 505.
Optionally, the opening 400a, the opening 400b and the opening 400c are not formed in the first mask 401 but in the second mask 402. In particularly, the opening 400e is firstly formed in the first mask 401, and the first mask 401 is stripped after the contact hole 505 is formed. And then the opening 400a, the opening 400b, the opening 400c and the opening 400d are formed in the second mask 402 for preparing the contact hole 501, the contact hole 502, the contact hole 503 and the contact hole 504. Alternatively, the opening 400d is firstly formed in the first mask 401, and the first mask 401 is stripped after the contact hole 504 is prepared. And then the opening 400a, the opening 400b, the opening 400c and the opening 400e are formed in the second mask 402 for preparing the contact hole 501, the contact hole 502, the contact hole 503 and the contact hole 505.
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The above detailed descriptions are provided to illustrate specific embodiments of the present invention and are not intended to be limiting. Numerous modifications and variations within the scope of the present invention are possible. The present invention is defined by the appended claims.
Claims
1. A preparation method of a trench type power semiconductor device comprising:
- providing a semiconductor substrate comprising a bottom substrate and an epitaxial layer atop the bottom substrate;
- etching the epitaxial layer to form an isolation trench in a termination area and active trenches in an active area, wherein an active to termination intermediate area exits between an outermost active trench close to the isolation trench and the isolation trench;
- depositing a conductive material in the isolation trench and in the active trenches;
- depositing an insulation passivation layer to cover the semiconductor substrate;
- etching through the insulation passivation layer in respective mesas in the intermediate area and the active area to form a first contact hole passing through the insulation passivation layer and extending downward into the mesa of the active area and a second contact hole passing through the insulation passivation layer and extending downward into the mesa of the intermediate area;
- wherein the first contact hole is deeper and wider than the second contact hole.
2. The method of claim 1, wherein the semiconductor substrate has a first conductive type, and wherein
- before depositing the insulation passivation layer, implanting dopants of a second conductive type opposite to the first conductivity type into the top of the epitaxial layer firstly to form a body layer of the second conductive type; and
- implanting dopants of the first conductive type into a top portion of the body layer in the active area to form a source layer of the first conductive type.
3. The method of claim 1, wherein the step of forming the contact hole comprises:
- applying a mask covering the insulation passivation layer and at least forming a first opening and a second opening in the mask, wherein the first opening is wider than the second opening; and
- etching through the second opening to form the second contact hole and etching through the first opening to form the first contact hole.
4. The method of claim 1, wherein the step of forming the contact hole comprises:
- Applying a first mask atop the insulation passivation layer, at least forming the first opening in the first mask, and etching through the first opening to form the first contact hole; and
- after stripping the first mask, applying a second mask atop the insulation passivation layer, forming the second opening in the second mask, and etching through the second opening to prepare the second contact hole; wherein the first opening is wider than the second opening.
5. The method of claim 2 further comprising implanting dopants of the same doping type and higher doping concentration as the body layer into the respective body layer of the intermediate area and the active area through the first contact hole and the second contact hole to form body contact implants, wherein
- the first contact hole is deeper and wider than the second contact hole so that a depth and a diffusion range of a body contact implant surrounding the bottom of the second contact hole are smaller than a depth and a diffusion range of the body contact implant surrounding the bottom of the first contact hole.
6. A trench type power semiconductor device comprising:
- a semiconductor substrate comprising a bottom substrate and an epitaxial layer atop the bottom substrate;
- an isolation trench formed a termination area in the epitaxial layer and active trenches formed in an active area in the epitaxial layer, wherein an active to termination intermediate area exits between an outermost active trench close to the isolation trench and the isolation trench;
- an insulation layer lined at the bottoms and on the side walls of the isolation trench and the active trenches, and conductive material deposited in the isolation trench and in the active trenches;
- an insulation passivation layer covering the semiconductor substrate;
- a first contact hole passing through the insulation passivation layer and extending downward into a mesa of the active area, and a second contact hole passing through the insulation passivation layer and extending downward into the mesa of the intermediate area; wherein
- the first contact hole is deeper and wider than the second contact hole.
7. The trench type power semiconductor device of claim 6, wherein metal plugs formed in the first contact hole and the second contact hole and a metal plug formed in a hole through the insulation passivation layer and in alignment with the conductive material deposited in the isolation trench are in electrical contact with top metal electrodes in the active area and the intermediate area.
8. The trench type power semiconductor device of claim 6, wherein the semiconductor substrate has a first conductive type, a body layer of a second conductive type opposite to the first conductivity type is formed atop the epitaxial layer, a source layer of the first conductivity type is formed at a top portion of the body layer in the active area, wherein the first contact hole and the second contact hole end in the body layer.
9. The trench type power semiconductor device of claim 8 further comprising body contact implants of the second conductivity type formed around the bottoms of the first contact hole and the second contact hole wherein a depth and a diffusion range of the body contact implant around the bottom of the second contact hole are smaller than a depth and a diffusion range of the body contact implant around the bottom of the first contact hole respectively.
10. The trench type power semiconductor device of claim 6, wherein the conductive material in each of the active trenches comprise a shielding gate located at the lower part of the active trench and a control gate located at the upper part of the active trench, and an insulation layer is arranged between the shielding gate and the contact gate, and wherein the shielding gate and the conductive material in the isolation trench have the same potential.
11. A trench type power semiconductor device comprising:
- a semiconductor substrate comprising a bottom substrate and an epitaxial layer atop the bottom substrate;
- a first mesa formed between a first trench and a second trench extending from a top surface of the epitaxial layer into the epitaxial layer;
- a second mesa formed between a third trench and the second trench from the top surface of the epitaxial layer into the epitaxial layer;
- a source region having a conductivity type same as the epitaxial layer formed from the top surface of the epitaxial layer to a first depth in the first mesa, the source region extending through an entire width of the first mesa;
- a first body region having a conductivity type opposite the epitaxial layer formed in the first mesa from a bottom of the source region to a second depth deeper than the first depth, the first body region extending through the entire width of the first mesa;
- a second body region formed in the second mesa from the top surface of the epitaxial layer to a third depth, the second body region extending through an entire width of the second mesa;
- a first contact hole filled with a conductive material formed from the top surface of the epitaxial layer through the source region reaching the first body region;
- a second contact hole filled with a conductive material formed from the top surface of the epitaxial layer into the second body region, wherein the second contact hole being narrower and shallower than the first contact hole.
12. The trench type power semiconductor device of claim 11, wherein the first and second trenches being filled with a conductive material insulated from the epitaxial layer functioning as trenched gate.
13. The trench type power semiconductor device of claim 12, wherein the third trench being filled with a conductive material insulated from the epitaxial layer functioning as a gate runner.
14. The trench type power semiconductor device of claim 11, wherein the third depth of the second body region being substantially the same as the second depth of the first body region.
15. The trench type power semiconductor device of claim 14 further comprising a body type doped region more heavily doped than the first body region at a bottom of the first contact hole.
16. The trench type power semiconductor device of claim 15 further comprising a body type doped region more heavily doped than the second body region at a bottom of the second contact hole.
17. The trench type power semiconductor device of claim 11 wherein the second and third trench being enclosed by the third trench.
18. The trench type power semiconductor device of claim 11 the conductive material filling the first contact hole being electrically connected to the conductive material filling the second contact hole.
19. The trench type power semiconductor device of claim 11, wherein the third trench being filled with a conductive material insulated from the epitaxial layer.
20. The trench type power semiconductor device of claim 19 further comprising a third contact hole open through a dielectric material on top of the conductive material inside the third trench, wherein the third contact hole being filled with a conductive material connected to the conductive material filling the third trench.
Type: Application
Filed: Aug 9, 2014
Publication Date: Feb 11, 2016
Patent Grant number: 9704948
Inventors: Yongping Ding (San Jose, CA), Hamza Yilmaz (Saratoga, CA), Xiaobin Wang (San Jose, CA), Madhur Bobde (Sunnyvale, CA)
Application Number: 14/455,877